Always Have an Ace Up Your Sleeve
by Calcitrix
Summary: Ace recounts the only time he's ever cheated at poker...Complete story.
1. Default Chapter

I do not have legal rights to these characters; I doubt that the owners would be happy with what I'm doing with them. Only Marvel, Hasbro, and Devils Due can make money off of these characters.

I am NOT, I swear, making up any of the poker card games listed in this story. I did make everything else up, though. I can't believe no one has written this storyline yet…

The rating is for: gambling references, language, adult situations, and nudity. Nothing too graphic, but a lot of innuendo.

G.I. Joe Headquarters, the Pit, Utah,

It had been a slow week for the Joes at the Base. There hadn't been a peep from Cobra in almost a month, and since Beach Head and Flint were both on fact-finding missions and Hawk had left for Washington, only Duke was left to keep everyone in line. But since Scarlett was at the base, too, he hadn't been keeping much of an eye on anyone but her. The team felt like they were on vacation—no early morning PT, no lectures on cleanliness, and no one to bust up the late night poker games.

Ace, Breaker, Gung-Ho, Torpedo, and Alpine were all gathered around a circular table set up in the communications area. Technically Breaker was on duty, but as long as he was facing the monitors, he figured he could divide his attentions with no problem. His pile of chips was considerably smaller than it had been at the start of the game. But that was all going to change. In his hands he held the best cards he'd had so far that night. He chomped down hard on his gum, blew a bubble, and as casually as possible, slid his remaining chips into the pile in the center of the table. "Ok, flyboy. I'm raising you everything I've got."

Looks passed around the table. Gung-Ho smiled. "So your luck finally turning, eh, Breaker? I find that hard to believe." He, too, slid most of his remaining chips to the center pile. Alpine looked at both of them for a moment, then said, "No risk, no glory. I'm in." His chips joined the others. Torpedo set his cards down on the green felt. "Nope. Not me. Maybe next time."

They all turned to Ace. "Ya know, guys, it's too bad we can't get together like this more often. I'd be a rich man. Well, if we were playing for money, anyway. I meet and call." He raised a hand. "But, just so you know for future reference, I'm gonna let you in on a little secret." He turned to Gung-Ho first. "You, Cajun, always play with your hat when you're bluffing." He reached for the large man's cards and turned them over, revealing a pair of twos. "And Alpine, no offense, but you are _always_ bluffing." He flipped over the climber's cards. Three sevens. "Not bad, but if you'd held on to that five, you'd have had a full house." Alpine sputtered, "How…" Ace turned to Breaker. "You really shouldn't chew gum when you play. You only blow bubbles when you think you've got something. However, master that I am, I'm gonna take you down anyway. Let's see 'em." Breaker laid down, one by one, a two, three, four, five, and six. Everyone whistled, and Ace started laughing. "Oh, man. That was really a good try. Really. Keep it up." The pilot smiled as he laid down his hand, revealing a royal flush. Everyone moaned. "Shit, Ace, why do we even bother?" Torpedo asked.

"'Cause you think that some day, somehow, you're gonna get the better of me. It won't happen, but it's nice to dream, isn't it?"

"You cheat, don't you?" Breaker stared at Ace. "You must. It's the only possible explanation." Ace held up both his hands. "I don't know why I'm in a revealing mood tonight, but I'm gonna give away one more secret." He lowered his voice, and everyone leaned in closer. "I've only cheated once, and it wasn't tonight." He paused, remembering. "It was about a year ago…"

* * *

Only a skeleton crew was manning the Pit. It seemed like Cobra was everywhere these days, and nearly everyone was out on a mission, or on vacation after one. Word was the team was going to get a new commander, and the higher-ups wanted as many Joes in the field as possible, showing off. New teammates were on their way, too; the Joes remaining at the base would soon be training them.

But for now, the six Joes on base were bored out of their minds. They had been alone on base with no real duties for five days now. It was a good thing that Duke wasn't around, or they would have been busted several times already. As it was, Flint was the highest ranking member present—and he was up to as much mischief as any of the others. The only one who hadn't broken any fixtures or put holes in the drywall was Snake Eyes, who kept volunteering for comm. duty.

At the moment, Flint, Ace, and Shipwreck were playing tackle football in the hallways after being kicked out of the rec room by Cover Girl and Lady Jaye. Those two were watching movies, but as neither of them had been shopping off base for some time, they had to choose from titles that they'd seen a million times already.

It was their favorite scene, though. As the dramatic music swelled, and the girls started to sniffle at the death of the young woman on screen, the moment was broken by a large form hurtling over the couch. It was followed by two more, each of whom grabbed a leg of the first. The three men crashed unceremoniously into the laps of their female teammates. All was chaos. "Ugh, my eye!" "Move your elbow, you jerk!" "We got you! You're down!" "No way, I made ten yards, easy!" "Lady Jaye! Watch where you put your hands!"

The men eventually got up and dusted themselves off, only to find the two women sitting, arms crossed, with identical glares on their faces. "Uh…" started Shipwreck, "Thanks for the soft landing!" The girls' eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Hey, guys, why don't we go get the girls some… ice cream, or… chocolate…" Flint gulped as the eyes swiveled in his direction and narrowed to mere slits.

"Naw, they're just as bored as we are," Ace put in. "Look, they're watching Steel Magnolias again." He considered the screen for a moment. "Ew."

Lady Jaye turned to Cover Girl. "There's three of them. That means we each get to kill one, then kill the other together. Who do you want to take down?"

"Now, ladies," Ace purred. "No reason to get upset. Look, obviously we need some… distraction." He had been considering this suggestion all day, and it seemed like the perfect time. "How about some poker?" Ace hadn't played a lot with these particular teammates, and the other Joes who were aware of his skills were too embarrassed to spread stories of their stupendous defeats at his hands. Perfect.

Cover Girl and Lady Jaye glanced at each other and shrugged. Then a small smile crept over Lady Jaye's features. "We'll play on one condition." She raised an eyebrow at the boys. "STRIP poker." Everyone's jaws fell open, and Cover Girl let out a strangled gasp. Then it was the guys' turn to share identical expressions: huge goofy grins of anticipation.


	2. The Game Begins

"Ok, ladies and gents," Ace started, "Here are the rules: each chip represents one tenth of a piece of clothing. That means the pot needs to reach at least ten chips before someone looses an item. Obviously, if everyone follows the opening bid, we'll have a starting bet, then trade in our three cards, and go around again to raise. By the time someone calls, there should be at least ten chips in the pot."

"I'm confused," Shipwreck said. "Why not just have one chip represent one piece of clothing, or just have the winner pick someone to shed and item?"

"Come on, man. Think. You lose one hand, and there are twenty chips on the table… Do you have twenty things to take off? And if the winner just gets to pick someone and we strip one item at a time, there's no point to betting at all. We could just pass out cards, show them immediately, and see who wins. This way, there's actually something at stake."

"Hunh. I think I get it." Shipwreck sat down on one of the chairs around the felt lined table. They had converted the rec room into a mini casino for the night, complete with self-serve bar, bright lights, background music, and a poker table. Everyone else pulled out a chair and was seated. Cover Girl chose a place next to Lady Jaye; as she sat down, she leaned over and hissed in Jaye's ear: "I cannot believe I let you talk me into this!"

Shipwreck looked around. "Snake Eyes still happily entrenched in the comm room?"

"Yep. I checked on him before I came in here," Flint told him.

Ace had a huge grin on his face. He was unwrapping a new deck of cards, and was wearing his green visor. "By the way, I think we can all agree that whoever is stripping needs to give us a show. No covering with hands." His grin widened. "Slow and sexy is the idea." He started shuffling. "Now, on to business. The name of the game is five-card draw. Aces are high, jacks are wild. No ante. First dealer—"

"Wait a minute." Everyone turned to Lady Jaye as she spoke. "What variation?"

Ace considered her a moment. "Gardenia Jackpots?"

"No, too easy," Jaye replied. "How about Skinny Minnie?"

"Too complicated. Spit in the Ocean?"

Lady Jaye shook her head. "Lame Brain Pete?"

"Never liked that one," Ace responded. "Uh…Pass the Trash?"

Cover girl started choking on her drink, and Shipwreck burst out laughing. "You guys are making this up, right?"

They ignored him, staring at each other for a moment. Then they burst out in unison: "Johnson!"

This time Flint and Cover Girl both did spit-takes and Shipwreck toppled right out of his chair.

Ace and Lady Jaye nodded at each other. As he started to shuffle, though, Ace began to worry. Could she possibly shark him? He squelched that thought immediately_. She's bluffing…she just read those names in a book somewhere. Hmmm...Better check just in case, _he thought. "Ok, you tell 'em the rules."

Lady Jaye went into lecture mode. "It's easy. You get five cards, and the game starts out as five-card draw, aces high. You all know how to play that, and for most of the game, that's what it will be. For the first round of bets, you can pass instead of opening with a bet. That doesn't mean you're out, though. Someone else can open, and the game continues as usual. BUT if everyone passes the first time around, which probably won't happen that often, the game changes to Ace-to-Five California Lowball."

Everyone but Ace stared at her, mouths open.

"That means," she continued, "That now aces are low, and the lowest set of cards in the round wins. Think of it as trying to lose a regular poker round. There are no flushes or straights, and a hand with complete junk beats a hand with a pair, and between two pairs, lowest wins. If two players have a junk hand, the one holding the highest card loses. Get the idea? What you want are all the low cards with no pairs or threes of a kind. In fact, the best hand you can have is ace, two, three, four, five." She turned to Ace. "One joker as wild?"

Ace tried to keep his expression calm. "I put it in already." _Uh, oh,_ he thought.

Everyone was recovering from their shock. Flint raised an eyebrow at Lady Jaye. "And where, exactly, did you learn to play poker, young lady?"

She rolled her eyes. "I'm covert ops. Haven't you ever seen a James Bond movie?"

Flint gave her a nervous grin. He had gone into this thinking that the odds were in the guys' favor, and he might, for the first time, get a closer look at his partner's charms. Not that he would say no to seeing a little of Cover Girl, too… but lately his thoughts seemed to spiral around Lady Jaye. He wondered if _she_ wanted a better look at _him. _She certainly wouldn't be in this game to see Shipwreck's ugly backside. And she and Ace were friends, but—he stopped himself before he could finish the thought. _No_, he reasoned, _she probably just wants to show us up._

Cover Girl had visibly relaxed and was actually smiling. She accepted her cards from Ace, and frowned in concentration. "Now, I want to keep my high cards, right?"

"No help!" Ace barked out before Lady Jaye could answer. She rolled her eyes, but didn't say anything.

Shipwreck, seated to the left of Ace, put in a bet right away. "I'll start with, mmm… two chips." Everyone matched his opening bet and traded in their cards. Then the second round of betting started. Everyone was being conservative, getting the feel for the game and the other players. By the time Ace called it, there were only twenty chips on the table. "Ok, let's see 'em."

Everyone laid down their cards. Lady Jaye took the hand with three jacks, just topping Ace's three tens. The men fidgeted as she looked them over one by one.

"Ace, you're up." She smiled, gathering the small pile of chips. "I do believe that will be two items of clothing." She missed the frown Flint gave her.

He stood up and took a deep breath, and leaned over to untie his boots.

"Slow and sexy, remember?" Cover Girl laughed.

Ace gritted his teeth and continued. _It's only the first round. She just has beginner's luck_, he told himself.

The next hand went to Lady Jaye, too. This time the pot was up to thirty five chips. "I'll be nice and round down. Flint, would you remove three pieces of clothing, please?" She smiled wickedly.

He gave her a lopsided grin and stood up. He casually tossed his beret aside. Then, like Ace, he took off his boots. "Mmm…No fair," Cover Girl commented. "There's nothing to see but we have to put up with the stink!"

"Well you get to take off your boots, too," Shipwreck put in. "Of course, you could start at the top…" Cover Girl smacked him in the shoulder.

Round three went to Ace, but the guys had bet absolute minimum; there were only ten chips on the table. He scooped them up anyway. "Give it up, LJ."

She stood and very slowly took off her baseball cap. The guys all booed. "Yeah, well, I'm only following Flint's lead." She sat back in her chair, and the next round was dealt.

Nearly an hour later, the CD player ran out of music. They didn't notice. No one in the room was wearing socks, shoes, or hats anymore, and all three men were in their undershirts. Cover Girl was down to a tank top and pants after Shipwreck had a streak of lucky cards. Lady Jaye was almost completely clothed. And she was definitely smirking.

They had played only two rounds of Lowball after Lady Jaye explained how it worked again. But no matter which way the game went, she seemed to come out on top. Worse, Ace couldn't read her at all. She had deftly manipulated the game so far, and he couldn't do anything to stop her.

Fortunately Flint had won this round. "Oh, it is definitely time for you to lose more clothing, Lady Jaye," he pronounced. His pulse quickened as she stood and faced the men.

Glancing up through half-closed eyes, she reached up and gripped the zipper on the front of her shirt. She pulled the tab down agonizingly slowly. The men were fascinated, watching as her hand lowered inch by inch. She gave them a seductive smile, and pulled the zipper down the rest of the way. Underneath she was wearing a tank top.

"Oh, man! That's so unfair!" Shipwreck exclaimed. "At this rate she'll have us all buck naked before we even see her underwear!"

Lady Jaye laughed. "That's the idea, boys."

Cover Girl gave her a high five as Lady Jaye sat back down. "This is fun!" She was enjoying watching the men squirm and turn red as they continued to lose.

The next few hands were taken Cover Girl, who had accidentally ended up with a flush and a straight. Shipwreck lost his undershirt and his pants, and Flint peeled off his undershirt.

Ace finally took another hand, and Cover Girl had to remove her tank top. She laughed as she did so, drawing the garment slowly out of her waistband. Flint shot a glance at Lady Jaye. She was watching, too—a little too avidly? He shook his head and fixed his attention back on the woman in front of him.

Three pairs of eyes widened as she revealed a belly button surrounded by smooth, tan skin. Shipwreck practically rubbed his hands together as she pulled the bottom up over her shoulders.

The guys groaned when they saw she had on a white sports bra underneath. "Haven't you ever heard of Victoria's Secret?" Shipwreck complained. "I finally have a model stripping right in front of me and she looks like an ad for Bowflex!"

"There is no way I'm going through PT in anything lacy, Shipwreck. Besides, who's got on the gray tighties full of holes, hmmm?"

Shipwreck shrugged. "I need to do laundry."

The betting slowed as the guys realized they were down to their last few pieces of clothing. It didn't help. Ace lost his pants next. The girls giggled madly as he gave up all traces of dignity and did a strip routine, right down to twirling his slacks above his head and gyrating his hips. He threw the pants to Lady Jaye, and both girls cheered and hooted.

"Boxers!" Cover Girl commented. "I hope you don't run in those."

He blushed and smiled. "Nope, but they're great to fly in." He wasn't really embarrassed yet, but he was certainly nervous. The whole idea had seemed great when he had imagined the girls being the ones to lose their clothes. But he wasn't sure he could really take off his underwear in front of the women. Not that he had anything to be ashamed of, but… It wasn't just the humiliation of being naked in front of two gorgeous women; it was the idea that he was also _losing at poker! _

_I have GOT to do something about this. I owe it to the guys— they weren't expecting this, either. _Ace didn't let his thoughts show on his face, but he began to plan.


	3. The Heat Is On

The game was now deadly serious. Ace watched as Lady Jaye dealt out the cards. It would be his deal in two more hands. He prayed that his underwear would be with him that long. Once he was out of clothes, he would be out of the game. He had to redeem himself before that happened, or he'd never live it down.

The betting was still conservative. The girls could have forced them to raise or fold, but they seemed to be enjoying the slow torture. Ace knew he had a losing hand this time around, and hoped that Flint or Shipwreck was doing better.

"I call." Everyone placed their cards on the table. Flint was grinning madly as he showed off his full house. He looked over at Lady Jaye with a gleam in his eye. "Tank top or pants. Your choice."

She smiled and stood, pulling her top loose as she did so. She fingered the hem for a moment, then reached for the button on her pants instead. Flint swallowed audibly as she pulled the zipper down next. Lady Jaye leaned slightly back and pulled the fly open, exposing a stretch of silky pink underwear. "That's more like it," Shipwreck croaked hoarsly.

Lady Jaye lowered her lashes and regarded each of the men for a moment. The she turned around and tugged the pants off her hips. She took her time sliding the slacks the rest of the way down her thighs, then very deliberately bent over, pulling her feet out of the bottom one at a time.

Cover Girl broke the silence by bursting into laughter. Everyone turned their heads to stare at her. "My God!" She gasped, pointing at the men. "The looks on your faces!" She continued to shake as Lady Jaye sat down again. "Geez, Jaye--have you done this before?"

Lady Jaye looked up at the ceiling, feigning innocence. "Who, me?"

"Yeah, covert ops, huh?" Shipwreck asked. "I've certainly seen those James Bond movies! Did you 'get' the bad guy on that mission?" He waggled his brows suggestively.

Lady Jaye's ears turned pink. "I refuse to answer that question. Ask something less stupid."

Cover Girl ended the discussion by handing the collected cards to Flint. "Deal."

It came down to the wildcard that hand. Lady Jaye had it, and Ace didn't. "Four of a kind, the easy way. Now, let's see." She regarded the men critically. "No offense, Ship, but I'd rather you kept your underwear on."

"You wound me!"

"And that leaves…" She trailed off, raising an eyebrow in Flint's direction. "I believe we need to even things up here a bit. You're the only man with pants left. Ditch 'em."

Flint stood up, slowly. Unfortunately, watching Lady Jaye remove her pants had caused some difficulties in his own. _Oh, please don't let her tease me about this in front of everyone else_, he prayed.

He took a deep breath and undid his fly. He closed his eyes and undid the snap. He hesitated a few moments, then quickly pulled his pants down to his knees, trying to bend over before they could get a good look at the front of his boxer-briefs.

"Ok, now stand up," Lady Jaye told him. "No covering, remember?" She paused and snickered when he didn't move. "What's wrong? You don't have any…insecurity issues, do you?"

He stood up straight and glared at her. It was obvious that he did _not_ have insecurity issues. Cover Girl gasped and covered her eyes with her hands. "Flint!" She squeaked, turning bright red.

Lady Jaye looked him over, and raised an eyebrow. He flushed at her frank appraisal, but stood still. After a moment he asked, "May I sit down now?"

She smiled broadly. "Sure thing…big guy."

Cover Girl peeked out between her fingers. "Lady Jaye!"

"Oh, come on, Cover Girl. Don't tell me you get embarrassed that easily! Maybe _you_ should go through covert ops training—they'd beat it out of you for sure!"

"Thank you, I will stick to my tanks. Can I look yet?"

Lady Jaye watched as Flint carefully sat down. "Yes, everything is hidden away from your delicate sensibilities."

Ace cleared his throat. "If we could continue…?" He scowled. He was secretly pleased that Flint had caused such a wonderful distraction. No one had watched him shuffle. He held the cards in his hands, ready to deal. _I never thought it would come down to this,_ he thought. _Me! Stacking the deck! _

_  
Is it worth it? _He wondered. He glanced around the table. Both Flint and Cover Girl were the color of ripe tomatoes. Shipwreck kept leaning back in his chair, looking at Lady Jaye's legs under the table. SHE just sat there, wearing a smug expression and, more importantly, a lot more clothes than him. _ Oh, yeah. It's worth it. _He dealt out the cards.

Everyone looked at their hands. The first betting round went by. Everyone passed. "Ok, boys and girls. Looks like it's lowball," Ace announced. He put in two chips. "Let's get moving." They all threw in chips to match and exchanged their cards. Everyone matched his next round bet, and, as Ace knew she would, Lady Jaye raised. He watched her expression carefully. He knew exactly what she held, and she hid it well. She should be feeling pretty confident. He raised the bet on the next pass. Shipwreck folded, but sure enough, Lady Jaye met his bet and raised him again. "Uh, Ace—I don't think you have that many clothes left," Shipwreck pointed out.

"Well, I guess she'll have to split up the pot, huh?" He replied. "We didn't say the clothes all had to come from the same person, did we? Just ten chips, one item."

Shipwreck put his head down on the table. There were at least thirty chips in the pile.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Flint fidgeted.

Ace met her bet a final time and called. They stared at each other for a full minute. He gestured for her to go first. She carefully placed down her hand.

"Oh, man!" Shipwreck moaned. "Thank God they don't have cameras!"

"Uh, you've seen enough for today, haven't you, Jaye?" Flint added. "You wouldn't really make us—"

"Gentlemen, gentlemen," Ace interrupted. "The game is not over yet." He dropped his hand face up on the table. "Five, four, three, two…ace. Best hand in the game."

Lady Jaye's jaw dropped. "Wha—" She sputtered.

"I believe that would be three items of clothing?" Ace prodded.

Shipwreck jumped up from his chair. "Yes!" He punched the air with his fists. "Come on, doll—fair's fair."

"Oh, be nice, guys," Cover girl joked. "She wouldn't have made you take off your underwear…"

"Yes I would have," Lady Jaye replied. "You're right. Fair's fair." She took a deep breath and stood up.


	4. Conclusion

Lady Jaye stood facing the table and began to undress.

She started with her tank top, peeling it off an inch at a time. She held it by her side for a moment, then dropped it casually on the floor in front of her. The bra she was wearing matched her underwear: pink silk with a bit of lace at the edges. It hooked in front.

She brought her hands up to the clasp deliberately, taking her time. There was utter silence in the room. Separating the two pieces in front, Lady Jaye shrugged her shoulders to slide the straps off, and the bra fell to the ground. Cover Girl put her hands over her eyes again.

"Mwa—" Shipwreck made a strangled noise and left his mouth hanging open.

Ace felt a grin slide over his features. He rested his elbows on the table and put his chin in his hands.

Flint was too entranced to move. He could only stare hungrily. She caught his eyes briefly, and the corner of her mouth twitched as she looked away. Then she met his eyes again and held his gaze. A distant part of his brain registered that she didn't seem to have a tan line.

Finally she moved her fingers to the silky waistband of her underwear. She ran her hands over her stomach and put a finger under the elastic. She tugged the top down on one side, revealing a shadowed hip and a brief glimpse of dark curls. Then she turned in profile and bent to pull the silky material down past her knees. She lifted each leg separately, slowly, and stepped out of the panties. She straightened and turned back to her audience.

Shipwreck began to clap, and was soon echoed by Flint and Ace. With an embarrassed shrug, Cover Girl joined in.

"Well, if I have to sit like this for the rest of the game, at least I know that a single winning hand from Cover Girl will see one of you guys joining me," Lady Jaye commented.

The men all looked at each other, then at Cover Girl. "Uh, I think we're prepared to call it a night if you are, Cover Girl," Shipwreck stated.

The model glanced at Lady Jaye. "Well…This wasn't exactly my idea. Fine by me."

"What!" Lady Jaye yelled. "Oh, that's just… just…Go gcreime cúnna ifrinn do bhall fearga!"

"Do we even want to know what that means?" Cover Girl laughed. "We're in trouble if she's cursing in Gaelic."

"Technically she's out of the game, so she doesn't have a say in the matter," Ace replied.

"Oh, am I ever going to get you for this…" She glared at him.

"Don't mess with the man. They don't just call me Ace for my flying skills, you know."

Lady Jaye gave a mock pout. "Hmph. So I have bared all for nothing? Life is cruel. I can't believe you're all backing out." She shook her head. "I guess at least I can get dressed again." The men's eyes followed her as she reached down for her discarded clothing. She picked up her underwear and hesitated just a moment before tossing them to the table.

Ace deftly blocked Shipwreck's attempted grab and plucked them from the air himself. Flint had the other end, though, and was not above elbowing Ace in the gut to make him let go. Rubbing his stomach, Ace decided not to argue with the man. By the time they all looked up again, Lady Jaye had her pants and tank top on.

She regarded the three men a moment. "You can get up and get dressed, too, you know." She smiled at them knowingly.

They all shifted uncomfortably, glad for the table's concealing presence. "We'll just…wait for you to go, I think," Ace replied.

"Cowards. Let's go finish our movie elsewhere, Cover Girl."

As they walked out of the room, Cover Girl asked her friend, "What was that you said, anyway?"

Their voices faded down the hallway, but they could just make out her reply. "May the hounds of Hell gnaw at you private parts. It's a particular favorite of mine."

After the women had left, the three guys shared grins. "Wow," Flint remarked. "I can't believe that just happened."

"Ace," Shipwreck asked, "That last hand… Did you…" He waggled his fingers at the cards.

"That is something I will never tell," he replied. "I value all of my body parts."

"Man, if she ever finds out…" Shipwreck started.

"If she finds out she'll kill all three of us," Flint commented. He looked down at the panties still clutched in his hand. "But it was worth it."

They all looked at each other and nodded in agreement.

* * *

Breaker stared at Ace, amazed. "I can't believe you never told us that story! We're your poker buddies, man!"

"I was kinda embarrassed about it," Ace explained. "I mean, she beat me at poker!"

"I can't believe Lady Jaye actually went through with it. Oh, to have _seen_ that!" Alpine put in.

"That's not even the best part," Ace told him. He paused dramatically. "Snake Eyes pulled me aside later and told me he got it all on tape!"

The men pondered this revelation.

"Do you have it?" Torpedo asked him eagerly.

"If you have been holding out on us…" Gung-Ho threatened.

"No." Ace shook his head sadly. "He told me he was going to keep it. Said it might come in handy one day. I'm not sure what he meant, but there was a wicked gleam in his eye."

"We've got to get that tape!" Alpine decided.

"You mean break into a ninja's room and rifle through his belongings?" Gung-Ho laughed. "You get the tape if you want; I'd rather retain the use of my arms and legs."

"I wonder what Snake Eyes is going to do with it?" Breaker asked.

"Who knows what goes through his head?" Ace replied, gathering the cards. "If we're lucky, maybe we'll find out someday." He sighed, and handed the deck to Alpine. "Your deal…"

The End…?


End file.
